ANAS Sarwar has been left red-faced as footage re-emerged of him claiming there would be “no austerity under Labour” as the UK Chancellor is set to announce a £20 billion black hole in the public finances.
We told how Rachel Reeves is on Monday to set out the results of a spending audit she ordered treasury officials to produce.
One Labour source has said the update will reveal “the true scale of the damage the Conservatives have done to the public finances”.
During the General Election campaign, the SNP repeatedly warned of £18bn of cuts to public services or tax rises – pointing to analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
A clip has now re-emerged of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar promising “no austerity” under a Labour government during a leaders’ debate.
There is an absolute wealth of footage of Sarwar rejecting the IFS claim of an £18bn black hole in UK finances. Reporting Scotland could show it if it wants to. They do it with the SNP after all, even going back years to find a clip. They only have to go back weeks for Sarwar. pic.twitter.com/Au5h1QtDKa
— MSM Monitor (@msm_monitor) July 26, 2024
It shows First Minister John Swinney pointing to the £18bn of cuts and, when asked if there would be £18bn of cuts, Sarwar replies: “No. And let me say unequivocally. There will be no austerity under a Labour government.”
Sarwar repeated his claim throughout the debate, telling Swinney at one point: “Read my lips. No austerity under Labour.”
It was a topic which occurred repeatedly throughout the campaign, including during another debate on STV.
John Swinney asks Anas Sarwar where £18bn of spending cuts will come from if Labour win the General Election. The Scottish Labour leader says 'he doesn't accept' there will be spending cuts Follow live: https://t.co/h7KbFjtgP1 pic.twitter.com/JPp9qUOHAH
— STV News (@STVNews) June 3, 2024
When Swinney put the same analysis to the Scottish Labour leader and told him Labour would “prolong austerity”.
Sarwar hit back by saying this was not the case and told the First Minister he was the “architect of austerity”.
New letter We told on Friday how the SNP have demanded Labour apologise to the public for “misleading voters” ahead of Reeves’s speech.
SNP MP Dave Doogan has now added to that pressure by saying that cuts and tax rises were “repeatedly dismissed” by Scottish Labour’s leader.
In a letter to Sarwar, he said: “That comment has rapidly come back to bite you. The new Labour Chancellor has blown your election promises apart – so what are your lips saying now?”
He added: “People will rightly be concerned that Labour lips were prepared to promise the public one thing to win votes during the General Election but are now saying the exact opposite within weeks of taking power.
“Alarm bells are now ringing that the Labour government plan to continue Tory cuts and public services will be starved of the cash they need – just as we have seen with the failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap this week.
“I hope we can agree that Scotland’s public services cannot afford another five years of Westminster cuts.”
Doogan also urged Sarwar to “direct you own MPs to serve Scotland’s interests and join with the SNP to vigorously oppose fresh Westminster austerity, even if that austerity is now being prepared by your own Labour Chancellor”.
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie (below) said: “Unlike other parties, Labour has always been honest with the public about the mess the Tories created, but we will keep our promises – there will be no return to austerity.
“The Tories crashed the economy but Labour is acting as quickly as possible to stabilise it and deliver the growth Scotland needs.
“Labour has a plan to create jobs, raise wages, invest in our NHS and turn Scotland into a clean energy superpower and our Scottish Labour MPs are already hard at work delivering it.”
